TEDDY Sheringham has a little more than pride to play for when he travels with Spurs to the Reebok Stadium for the televised Monday night clash with Wanderers.

After Tottenham's defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday most are now writing off the North London club's chances of achieving European football for next season.

Glenn Hoddle's side are still in the shake up for a UEFA Cup place but currently trail Everton, Liverpool, Blackburn, Charlton and Southampton for the three qualifying positions.

That is bad news for Sheringham, as quotes from Hoddle over the weekend suggest he will only be offered a new contract if Spurs make it into Europe.

His current deal is up in the summer, and while Hoddle is believed to want to keep him, the club's owners, ENIC, need to know whether they can generate additional revenue from European football next season.

Hoddle said: "I have spoken to Teddy about his contract situation and told him we will now review it nearer the end of the season when we will have a better idea of our position regarding Europe."

If he was to sign a new deal he would be the oldest outfield player in the Premiership next season, as he turns 37 at the beginning of May.

But if Spurs dumped him it would be a sad final chapter to Sheringham's love-hate relationship with Spurs, which began with his supporting the club as a child.

Although he enjoyed successful spells as a young pro with both Millwall and Nottingham Forest he first began to really make a name for himself in 1992 when he joined Spurs, then managed by Terry Venables.

Sheringham enjoyed four seasons with Spurs in which he became recognised as one of the Premiership's best players and a fixture in the England team under Graham Taylor, Terry Venables and Glenn Hoddle. But in 1997 he became a figure of hate at White Hart Lane when he moved to Manchester United in a £3.5 million deal. He went on to win three Premiership titles at Old Trafford, as well as scoring in both the Champions League and FA Cup Finals of 1999 as United achieved their historic treble.

In 2001 he returned to Spurs on a free transfer, just a few weeks after being voted Footballer of the Year.

He became Tottenham captain and was forgiven his departure to Old Trafford by the fans, who would be shocked if he was to leave in the summer after the recent departure of strikers Les Ferdinand and Sergei Rebrov.

Sheringham has netted 11 times this season and is as hungry as ever for goals.

He said: "At my age you realise there isn't that much time left and you want to get as much in your career as possible.

"For a striker that means you want to hit the back of the net. We have eight games left and I want to score in all of them. My target is still to hit 20 goals for the season."

While he has his own personal ambitions he has great hopes for the current Tottenham squad - whether he stays beyond the summer or not.

In the 3-1 win over Wanderers in October, Sheringham watched his young apprentice Robbie Keane hit an important double but this time around he is hoping to do some damage himself. He said: "I've never been so optimistic about a Spurs squad.

"In the seven years I've been associated with the club this is the best squad we've had and we're being asked to play the game in the right manner.

"Once everyone is fit, we've got a strong squad at the moment, 20 players pushing for places and that can only be good for us."